


Half midnight on a Thursday

by ottertrashpalace



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Very tired phil, a little shouting, like lots of fluff and getting together, phil works in retail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 18:43:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4533060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottertrashpalace/pseuds/ottertrashpalace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil is working the late shift at the customer service desk, and handling shitty customers can make him kind of irritable<br/>Or, he feels bad for Dan and takes him out for a drink by way of apology</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half midnight on a Thursday

Phil glanced at the clock. 23:36. Closing nights were the worst nights, and tonight was the bane of them all: he was working at the customer service desk. He tried to tell himself that the store was the emptiest it could be, and he was almost done. So close. The coffee he'd drunk at lunch was really starting wear off.

"Excuse me, young man?" Said a rather thin voice in front of him. Phil blinked. A middle aged woman with frazzled hair and a boxed laptop stood in front of his desk. "Sorry, ma'am, how can I help you?" Phil stammered. _Optimistic, think optimistic_.

"This thing is useless!" She snapped, slamming the laptop onto the desk.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He replied, as evenly as he could. Damn it, and so close to closing time, too. "Can I possibly see the receipt? I should be able to give you a complete refund."

"Receipt? I don't have the damn receipt. We've only had it for eight months, and it just shut down the other day! Tommy was playing on it and it just shut down! Wouldn't come back on!"

Phil's consciousness started to waver. The woman continued to yell about... something. What were they talking about? No receipt?

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Phil broke in, as soon as she stopped for a breath. "If you don't have your receipt, I don't think there's anything I can do for you. Besides, for this kind of laptop, the return policy expires after six months." It was a miracle that he could form coherent sentences.

"WHAT?" She exclaimed, the sound echoing around the empty store. "What am I to tell Tommy, then? That this damned store is completely useless? I should never have come here in the first place! None of you know what you are doing. There's no way the return only lasts six months."

Phil's vision was swimming a little. It was far, far too late for this. Waking up at six prior to a seven-hour closing shift was never a good idea. He scolded himself internally.

"I'm really, really sorry, ma'am." He forced out through his teeth. "It's company policy."

"I want to speak to your manager, boy!" She shrilled.

"I'll get her." Phil sighed. He wound his way back to his boss' office. She looked up from her computer as soon as he walked in.

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. Broken laptop past the return date, no receipt."

"Yeah, I heard." She closed her browser and stood up.

"I'll take her at the other desk. Get back to work."

Phil couldn't blame her for the attitude--they were all damned tired-- but it didn't exactly boost his willingness to stay awake and enthusiastic for the next forty five minutes. It was a shit job, really, he just needed the money.

As soon as he got back to his post, there was another customer waiting. Tall, kinda messy brown hair, heart shaped face-- the kind of thing Phil would definitely go for if it weren't half midnight on a Thursday.

"Uh, sorry to bother you so late, but my roommate's phone broke and I really need him a new one, I was hoping you could check the warranty?" The man handed Phil a slightly crumpled receipt, which he took and scanned.

"Nope. Expired last week." Phil said shortly. The only thing he really wanted to think about was his queen-sized bed back at home.

"Oh... Ok. Sorry again. thanks." The stranger rambled a little, taking back the receipt and stumbling away. As soon as he was gone, Phil started to feel bad. The man hadn't been rude at all, and Phil really hadn't been fair to him... besides, had that been a Muse shirt he was wearing?

 

Dan mentally berated himself as he left the store. What had he been expecting? The poor man, he'd worked in retail and he knew how incredibly irritating it was when someone came in fifteen minutes before closing time. He sank down on the curb of the parking lot.

On the other hand, Mike was going to be royally pissed... again. Dan wouldn't be surprised if he had actually gotten himself kicked out this time, just for knocking the damn phone off a table. He didn't have the money to pay for a brand new iPhone...

He heard the door open behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a tall figure in a blue shirt. It was the man from the customer service desk. Dan stood up. Why had he come after him?

"Hey... I just... Sorry about your phone." The man-- his name tag said Phil-- panted. Had he been running?

"Oh... It'll be fine, I'm sure." Dan replied lamely, a tad confused.

"No, really." Said Phil, catching his breath. "I didn't need to be a dick about it. I guess... Long day."

"S'fine, we've all had the late shift once or twice." Dan hadn't been expecting an apology. "I'm Dan."

"Dan. Suits you. I'm Phil."

"So I gathered." Said Dan with a small smile. They shook hands awkwardly.

"Look, I really am sorry," phil muttered, flushed. "And I was thinking... D'you maybe wanna grab a drink? My shift ends in ten minutes. I mean, if you haven't got anywhere better to be."

Flattered, Dan considered his options. Back to the flat to face a tired and very irate Mike, or a drink with this cute, considerate, slightly red-faced stranger? Hmm. "I'd like that," he answered with a small smile, "meet you out here in ten?"

Phil grinned. Dan decided that he really wanted to make him grin more.

Twenty minutes later, the two were sitting in a small all-night cafe. Dan, as it turned out, was wearing a muse shirt for good reason--and he liked anime, and the Internet. He had a hoarse, melodic laugh, and two small freckles that formed a frowny face with his dimple when he smiled. Phil let himself be entranced.

Dan saw the laughing blue eyes across the table from him and got a warm, fuzzy feeling in his stomach. The more stupid jokes Phil told, the less Dan wanted to go back to the cold flat on the other side of the city. Eventually, he took pity on Phil, who was obviously completely spent, and got the bill (which Phil insisted on paying anyways--"I was the one who was a total prick!"), and they had to go their separate ways.

Halfway home in the taxi, Dan felt his pocket buzz.

Phil: are you free Sunday?

Dan smiled to himself. The fuzzy feeling lingered inside him, and he had every intention of keeping it that way.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm new to writing phanfiction. Wow. Ok. Feedback is heavily appreciated (seriously, comments are like food for my soul), and I hope that was less shit than I think it might've been I wrote it at midnight on my phone oops  
> Also how is this exactly 1111 words what the hell is it a sign


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